City vetting firm to finish transitway work

Martin Cassidy

Updated 10:19 pm, Monday, March 18, 2013

STAMFORD -- The city is negotiating with a contractor to start the second phase of the Stamford Urban Transitway, the four-lane road linking the Stamford train station to the East Side, sometime this year, according to City Engineer Louis Casolo.

After the city first issued a bid for the second phase last July, Casolo said officials scrapped that slate of candidates because none were able to meet requirements of the Federal Transit Administration, which is paying 80 percent of the project's $52 million cost.

Casolo declined to identify the contractor, citing ongoing negotiations for a contract. Joseph Capalbo, the city's director of legal affairs, did not return calls for comment.

More Information

Phase 2The Stamford Urban Transitway's second phase is to begin construction sometime later this year, completing a four-lane road along Myrtle Avenue, from Elm Street to East Main Street, to ease access to the downtown train station. The second phase, originally to begin construction in 2011, was delayed by Mayor Michael Pavia in late 2010 in order to establish a contingency plan to avoid the type of unforeseen engineering and environmental problems that resulted in the first phase being finished a year late and $5.3 million over budget.

As negotiations move forward, the city has yet to finalize acquisition prices for properties needed to complete the thoroughfare, including two sites, at 165 Myrtle Ave. and 384 Elm St., that are home to DeYulio's, a long-established sausage maker.

Frank Murphy, an attorney at Tierney, Zullo, Flaherty & Murphy, which is representing the properties' owners, Frank and Victor DeYulio, said the brothers need more than the $1.2 million being offered by the city to move their business.

A civil trial on their claim is scheduled for April.

"We're looking for a new location, but we need more money to move the business," Murphy said.

Everett Sessa, owner of 59 Myrtle Ave. and 933 East Main St., said he is also seeking more money for his property, which he said is worth more than the city has offered for it.

Sessa said the property being taken is to be used for bike lanes along the transitway in areas that now provide parking for his tenant's customers, reducing the commercial value of his land.

"The property is so valuable and they are going to be taking away all the parking on both sides of the street," Sessa said. "I don't know who is going to ride bikes there when it's so busy."

Late in October 2010, Mayor Michael Pavia halted plans to bid the second phase to form committees to devise measures to prevent or minimize the types of delays arising from logistical and technical snags that slowed work on the first phase, from Atlantic to Elm streets.

Finished in mid-December 2010, the first phase cost $68.1 million and was finished more than a year late due to a variety of setbacks, including a nine-month, $3.7 million cleanup of contaminated soil between Canal and Dock streets.

The project was initially bid in July 2012, but the responding companies' submissions lacked required certifications which resulted in the project being rebid, according to Ann Brown, the project manager.

City Rep. Gabe DeLuca, R-14, chairman of the Board of Representatives' Transportation Committee said any additional rigor over the contractor's qualifications is justified to avoid the hurdles that extended the first phase.

City officials have said they expect the additional logistical forethought will ensure the project's second phase goes more smoothly than the first.

During the project, the city plans to use dedicated staging areas to store soil and equipment, items that obstructed access to many roads on the earlier phase, and integrate utility work into the schedule to make sure telephone and other wiring is finished in advance of road paving, according to plans.

"I thought the work would be starting soon, but they have a few things they have to iron out," DeLuca said. "But if they are trying to make sure they avoid the difficulties of the first phase it's worth it."

Martin B. Cassidy can be reached at 203-964-2264 or followed on Twitter @martincassidyst.